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a few pots from the last firing.
Tag Archives: Ceramics
Enclosed Jars
Recently I have been experimenting with throwing and manipulating enclosed forms. I have particularly taken to making jars based on a ‘box’ demo I saw over the summer by Steve Parry – it’s a simple way to make the body, gallery, flange and lid in one go. Check out the video to see the making process….
I have been experimenting with scale and the relation of the lid to the body. Although I have enjoyed throwing some larger lumps of porcelain, I feel, on a whole, that the larger forms are generally weaker and need work. One of my most successful jars was the first one I threw – it seems to have captured a freshness and the balance of the form works really well. I am now wadding up, preparing of an impending monday firing, but hope to return a few of these ideas in the near future!
Finished Jars. 2nd from the left is the 1st Jar I made.
A long overdue update.
Its been months since my last post, I’m not really sure where the time has gone… The Wobage Christmas show went really well and I had a lot of positive comments which is always good!! Now I am back to the wheel, experimenting and trying new ideas – mostly faceting related, but desperately trying to find another way to capture the fluidity that I am achieving through the faceting.
Rather than ramble on, I thought I would fill you in on life at Wobage over the last few months through a few fuzzy photos taken on my phone…
Phoenix Results
After a week of peering through the bungs with torches and waiting, we were finally able to unpack the Pheonix today. We couldn’t have really asked for a better first firing!
During the firing we got very hot in the soak; hitting 1325C in the second hour, slumping cone 12 at the top and touching it at the bottom. So for the 3rd hour, after a phone call to Jeremy, we dropped down to 1260-1300C. This hot soak, along with a strong reduction has created some amazing surfaces!! I would say that the only negative of the firing is that although we tried to open up the bottom of the pack (to encourage more salt/soda and heat through this section) the pots in this area are a little drier and glazes matter, so in future firings I may put pots with more fluid glazes in this section.
Left of the Pack
Right of the Pack
Cone Banks; Bottom (left) and Top
Cone 12s Bottom Far Left and Far Right
Matter Bottom Left
Top Pots
Scattered Pots
More top Pots
I am really excited by my pots, I can’t wait to get back absorbed in a making cycle – I’ve got so much to explore and develop!! I’m going to continue pushing the faceted forms and playing with porcelain. As for the surfaces, I need to sit down and really analyse them; at the moment, it may not look like it in the photos, but, every pot has a different slip and glaze combo offering very slight variations! I am looking forward to developing a body of work to fill the whole kiln, creating pots in a range of sizes. I can’t wait for my next firing…
Below is a closer look at a few of the pots (I will put more up in the gallery section later).
Vases, Shino, Ash and Ash
Two Faced Jar
Teapot
Mugs, Porcelain and Faceted
Mugs
Teapot
Vases, Shino and Ash
Two Faced Jar
Porcelain Booby Jar
Teapot
Teapot
Faceted Jug
Dry Pots
Mugs, Porcelain and Faceted
Have a look at Jack pots out the firing here
packing photos
Here are a few images to run you through the pack:
The Phoenix is a cross draught kiln; the flame enters the chamber on the bottom left and is drawn out on the right, this makes packing the kiln a bit easier because we roughly know the path of the flame through the pack. Potentially though, this design of kiln can produce ‘one-sided’ pots.
We have decided not to use a bag wall, instead we have put a few taller pots we don’t mind getting really blasted on the edge of the pack. We are hoping this will encourage more flames through the bottom of the left pack, rather than them bi-passing the pots. The bottom left shelf has also been packed quiet high for the same reason.
The bottom right is packed tighter so that the flames don’t whip through and out of the flue too quickly.
The top is filled with ‘the best pots’, as in general these get the best firing – with more salt and are more heavily reduced.
I have gone for packing a few pots on top of other pots (should have some interesting results I hope!) Potential for a bit a warping in this combo though, a large porcelain serving plate with a porcelain mug…
As you can also see, we have got a huge bank of cones and rings in. I guess this is airing on the side of caution, but hopefully they will help us read what is going on in the kiln a bit more.
The kiln is pre heating as I type and is currently on 200C+, looking forward to tomorrow!
Upcoming Phoenix Firing
Last week Jack and I decided to work towards a solo wood firing before he has to head back to Cardiff. We set ourselves a pretty tight deadline of just over a week to make, decorate and dry our pots alongside still putting in hours for Jeremy – so a few late potting nights were had!
Its been really good to be back making my own work after a long break and I have enjoyed experimenting and playing with faceted forms. I love the way that the lines of the facets capture the movement of the clay in the forming of the pots – its been a challenge understanding how thick to leave the clay (before cutting the facets) so that the form doesn’t collapse in the shaping yet still captures the freshness of the throwing. 
I have also made a few glaze and slip tests for both porcelain and Jeremy’s normal iron bearing clay body. I am really excited about seeing the results of these as we are only planning on lightly salting the kiln (about a 1/3rd of the normal amount) and its a bit of an unknown how much the glazes will flux.
We have planned the pack (roughly!) and are going to putting the pots in tomorrow morning with the pre heat starting after lunch. Its been interesting working closely along side Jack, each having to compromise slightly on what we want out of the firing and debating over the placement of the pots, but its really exciting to be the ones in charge and I’m looking forward to getting my first solo wood firing under my belt!
Take a look at a few more of my latest creations, in the mean time we will keep the fire stoked to dry the pots for tomorrows pack:
Potter’s Road Trip.
Jack, Penny and I have just returned from a short road trip visiting a few potters. Travelling 700 miles in 3 days, we visited six potters – Micki Scholschloessingk, Nic Collins and Sabine, Svend Bayer, Clive Bowen and Mike Dodd.
It was really interesting to see such variety in workshops and showrooms – ranging from immaculate spaces such as Micki’s and Svend’s to the more cluttered (Nic’s). Everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly, showing us around their workshops, kilns etc whilst answering a continuos stream of questions.
Personal highlights include Micki’s showroom (a lovely open space which presented her work really well), Svend’s anagama and wood stacks (a work of art within themselves) and Clive’s charm and approach to making (I found it inspiring to speak to a well established maker who is still open to playing and still has an incredibly relaxed approach to the material).
For a bit more of an insight into the trip take a look at the photos below…
anastasia simmons ceramics 